Need SPECIFIC help on building my table

prodigy2k7

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Dec 17, 2006
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How do I add legs to this table?
PLEASE DONT SAY "put some screws in" or something very vague, i need a specific idea cuz i have no clue ow im going to do this,

also, this table is fairly heavy, 4x8 plywood with 2x4 frame pieces, should i use 2x4 for the legs, or 4x4?

How EXACTLY do i connect them? If there is a metal piece involved like a brace of some sort, please show a picture and where it would go, and an example picture if u know where any are at.


IMG_3486.jpg
 

jetrock

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Dec 18, 2003
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Wow, that's fairly heavy! 1x4 or 1x3 is generally all that is needed for a train table.

The simples way would be to use four legs, each made from a 2x4. Put one leg in each corner, using one or two screws drilled from the leg to the outer framework of the table (3" drywall screws should suffice) and another screw down from the top of the table.

You'll want to brace the legs to avoid wobble: I'd recommend using 1x3 lumber for this. Cut a length that reaches from the upper part of one leg to the lower part of the other: the idea is that each side of the table looks like an uppercase "N." Screw the cross-brace to the outside of the two legs. Cut another identically-sized piece and screw it in on the other side of the legs, so each side of the table looks like this: |X|
 

Cannonball

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Dec 4, 2006
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Is this going to be a self standing table or the one that is going on the dining table in your garage? If it's the one going on the dining table, you don't need legs. just cut notches for your wiring. If it's going to be a self standing table, get a set of these folding table legs from Northern Tool
 

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IAIS 604

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Aug 31, 2003
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From the link I gave you on your last thread about this subject:
http://www.nmra.org/beginner/bench48.html


"Cut 4 legs to the length you decide upon. At first it would seem obvious that the legs should be mounted at the corners of the layout but that is not so. If you mount them about 20% of the length of your table in from each end you will have a much stiffer top with much less flex in the middle when you lean on it. So mount your legs about 19" from each end along the long edge of the your table. With the table upside down, drill one 5/16" hole through the long side piece and a leg about 3/4" to 1" up from the plywood. Push a 1/4"x3" carriage bolt through from the outside and place a washer and then a nut on the bolt. Tighten the nut down finger tight. Use a carpenter's square to get the leg at right angles to the table and then drill a second hole through both the side and the leg about 3/4" to 1" down from the bottom (temporarily facing up) edge. Install a second bolt-washer-nut. Tighten both bolts. Install the other three legs in the same manner. Make sure that all four legs are perpendicular to the table in both plains. You could stop here but your table will be a bit wobbly.

I would brace the legs at each end with two 1x2's in an "X" form, each as fastened as close to the floor as possible at one end and as close to the table at the other. Then brace the legs lengthwise from as near to the floor as possible on each leg to a point at the end of the table and again to the middle of the table (eight braces in all). All this bracing may look rather ugly, but you can always fasten a cloth curtain around the bottom of the layout to make it look better if it really bothers you. If your floor is not level and even, you can drill a 5/16" hole into the center of the bottom end of each leg and then hammer in a 1/4" "t-nut" (available at hardware stores) into the hole. You can now thread a 1/4" bolt into the t-nut about half of its length. This will allow you to adjust the length of each leg to compensate for any uneveness in your floor."